May 4, 2021 | Would you believe…a first grade class uses about 200 glue sticks each year. We provided 660 glue sticks this week. That should hold (ha!) them for a while.
Would you believe?
Plenty pencils provided!
April 27, 2021 | Kindergarten received 828 pencils this week. We want the kids to be sharp!
The BFG
April 20, 2021 | The children in one fourth grade class are reading The BFG by Roald Dahl. They also have access to the movie, both complements of Friends.
“I know from personal experience that watching a movie and also reading the book is a great way to get kids to read more.” ~Linda, Friends president
5th Grade Science
April 13, 2021 | Thanks to Vicky and her OptumRx team for providing this Human Urinary Tract System Model!
When our 5th-graders study the human body, they will have this model to help them learn!
This life size model shows major components of the urinary system: kidney, renal artery, vein, ureter, bladder, and urethra.
Mark Your Calendars!
March 31, 2021 | Please mark your calendar for the 2021-2022 School Beautification Work Days:
- Saturday, August 7, 2021, 8:30 to 11:00am
- Saturday, March 26, 2022, 8:30 to 11:00am
The August date will be the spruce-up-before-school-starts work day to pick up litter, sticks, and spread some new mulch.
The March date is needed to pick up oak leaves, litter, and sticks.
Come and let’s keep Dinsmore Elementary looking like an “A” school! Just bring your garden gloves. Trash bags and tools will be available.
Total Sign Redesign
March 24, 2021 | The traffic/parking signs are now complete! Yay! Thanks to CSX Transportation for the funds to purchase the signs. Thanks to Roger Mann, retired Public Works Superintendent of Highways with the City of Jacksonville, for an extraordinary amount of VOLUNTEER labor to move, remove, shorten, straighten, transport, and install signs.
Signs had been installed over the school’s 70-year history ad hoc without re-evaluating the total effect. We’ve been working on the signs for two years and everyone – especially Roger! – is glad to have this phase of the School Beautification finished!
Number Line
March 15, 2021 | Thanks to Ms. Johns for the design…all kindergarten teachers now have a 1 to 20 number line to display in their classrooms!
This is the first contribution Friends has made to help children learn math!
Word Families
March 7, 2021 | Another Know & Grow product is ready for testing! A set of 42 letter groupings have been neatly stored for each child to have his/her own set. One classroom will test the product and, if it works, all first-graders will receive a set for use in the classroom.
“I don’t remember learning about word groups. But, my husband does. He remembers when the ‘light bulb’ went off. He learned to spell ‘ship’ and realized by changing out the letters, he could spell another word. He had no problem reading from that day forward.” ~ Linda
Hopefully these letter combinations will help children become more literate – although perhaps with different letter combinations!
Bananagrams!
February 21, 2021 | Thanks to a private donor, all first grade classrooms have Bananagrams! Each bag contains the letter tiles a child will need to spell out his/her sight words. As part of the Know & Grow literacy program, these lower-case letter tiles will be used for years to come!
Hearts & Valentines
February 12, 2021 | How clever that science and Valentine’s Day merged! Students listened to their hearts for Valentine’s Day using stethoscopes provided by the William and Helen Thomas Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee.
